Alex Albon accepted the blame on Friday after his heavy and expensive crash during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix threatened to derail his future with Red Bull.
The London-born Thai driver, who has struggled this year to match the pace of Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, said he knew he should have backed off when he ran wide at the final corner before careering off into the barriers.
“It was just one of those things,” he said as he tried to make light of his crash, which wrecked most of his car.
“I should have pulled out of it really.
“I was a bit surprised by the lack of grip. And it was quite a difficult, awkward angle – It wasn’t fun.”
His crash came midway through the floodlit second session at the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir. The right side of his Red Bull car was severely damaged and both wheels were left hanging only by their tethers.